Tourism Authority Kiribati

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Ketia Natan

Kiribati to participate in virtual PATA Travel Mart

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The Tourism Authority of Kiribati will participate in the first virtual PATA Travel Mart (PTM) 2020, from 23 – 27 September 2020.

The Virtual PATA Travel Mart is a business to business travel contracting and virtual networking event that both mirrors and enhances the features of the long-standing PTM, which boasts over four decades of experience in connecting qualified international buyers and sellers from all of Asia and the Pacific region through pre-matched business appointments.

The event will offer two full business days with a possibility of up to 50 pre-matched appointments across all time zones from 24-25 September…  There will also be two trade visitor days on September 26-27.  This virtual travel mart is also an opportunity for TAK to gain deeper insights on travel recovery through high-quality forums and expand its networks through interactive networking breaks.

Besides having an enhanced booth, Kiribati was also have the opportunity to make a 15-minute pre-recorded video presentation for the presentation hall on the Virtual PTM platform.

The Tourism Authority of Kiribati is  excited about the opportunity  to connect with  International travel trade professionals at PTM2020and gauge a better understanding of new travel requirements and expectations during this global pandemic.

 

KIRIBATI on PATA eLearning platform

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Travel agents worldwide will now be able to learn about Kiribati through the Pacific Asia Travel Association’s (PATA) eLearning platform.

The PATA eLearning platform is for travel agents, tourism professionals, and destination marketers who want to refresh their knowledge about a travel destination.

The Kiribati training module is categorized into 5 modules and these include destination highlights, attractions and activities, culture, customs and events, accommodation, shopping and dining and fast facts.

TAK believes that this is a great opportunity for Kiribati to be to be introduced to travel professionals who are taking this downtime in international travel to learn about new destinations. Once training is completed, participants will be certified as Kiribati specialist agents.

The Kiribati training module can be accessed on www.pataelearning.com and will be available until March 2021.

Preparation for World Tourism Day 2020

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World Tourism Day (WTD) will be celebrated around the world on the 27th of September 2020.

The theme for this year’s celebration as set by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNTWO) is “Tourism: Building Peace and Fostering Knowledge.” Given that the 27th September falls on Sunday this year, the Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) will celebrate World Tourism Day on the 25th September 2020.

To celebrate this year’s World Tourism Day, TAK is working with the Ministry of Education to host an essay competition for Year 10 students on the topic “How tourism can promote peace and strengthen knowledge of the I-Kiribati people”

Through the assistance of the Ministry of Women, Youth, Sport and Social Affairs, TAK will also organise a practical training on handicraft making with women from various local communities.

TAK welcomes year 10 students and women to participate in this year’s World Tourism Day celebration.

Maiana Fly-Fishing Guide Training

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The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) in partnership with experienced fishing Guide Mr Ioran Kaiteie is conducting a fishing guide training on Maiana Island. The training which commenced on the 17th of August 2020 will be running for three weeks and will end on the 5th of September 2020. The first week of the training was focused on fishing guide while the remaining weeks will be spent at sea learning on hands fly fishing techniques.

Maiana is one of the Northern islands of Kiribati that has the  potential for fly fishing activity. With its’ close proximity to South Tarawa, Maiana is an excellent spot for fly-fishing. The purpose of the training is to equip the locals with knowledge and skills of the fly-fishing game.

This is the first fly-fishing guide training offered to the people of Maiana and the training also provides awareness on promoting sustainable tourism through the preservation bonefish of and understanding its value in the fly-fishing market.

This activity is supported by the LDCF-1 Project, funded by the Global Environment Facility and implemented under the Environment and Conservation Division with the support of the United Nations Development Programme.

Nonouti Island Capacity Building Program

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The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) in collaboration with Marine Division and Red Cross carried out a Capacity Building Program on Nonouti Island. The program consisted of two parts, a Tour Guide & Boat Safety Training and Pastry & First Aid training.

The purpose of these training is to enhance the skills of the people of Nonouti on tour guiding and pastry baking and equipped with boat safety and first skills relevant to any tourism business operation.

The Boat Safety & Tour Guide training was carried out on the 6th to 13th August 2020 with 18 and 10 participants respectively.

Pastry and First Aid training were held the following week commencing on 13th and ended on the 20th of August 2020 with 16 and 32 participants respectively.

Mr. Iotebwa from Marine Division conducted Boat Safety training and Ms. Eretaake from Red Cross conducted the First Aid training. Pastry and Tour guiding were conducted by TAK officials.

TAK hopes these training will prepare Nonouti Island enable operators in Nonouti to provide a better-quality services and guest experiences.

This activity is supported by the LDCF-1 Project, funded by the Global Environment Facility and implemented under the Environment and Conservation Division with the support of the United Nations Development Programme.

US GRANT FOR RESET KIRIBATI

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The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) earlier this week congratulated the Kiribati Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI) on successfully securing a grant that will help restart the Kiribati tourism industry.

Through the US. Embassy of Fiji’s Economic Recovery Project Grant, KCCI in partnership with TAK have secured a US$25,000 grant to implement the ‘Reset Kiribati’ project which will be implemented between September – November 2020.

The Reset Kiribati is a post COVID-19 economic recovery strategy that aims to prepare local accommodation, transport providers and restaurants for the ‘new traveler’.

The project will be implemented in 4 phases and these include the development of the new travel protocol, training workshops for tourism service providers, supply of Covid safety materials and the monitoring of Covid protocols. This project will cover South Tarawa, North Tarawa, Abaiang and Kiritimati.

TAK is confident that through the implementation of COVID-19 travel safety practices, tourism business operators will be able to normalize their operations once international flights resume. In the long-term, TAK agrees that this project will also help lay the foundation for a new and cleaner travel destination. TAK envisages that these ‘new travellers’ will have hygiene expectations which this project will help address.

KIRIBATI 2019 IVS REPORT RELEASED

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The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) has released its 2019 International Visitor Survey (IVS) Report.

International Visitors Survey 2019 was conducted over 12 months from March 2019 – March 2020, surveying international visitors departing from Bonriki International Airport in Tarawa and Cassidy International Airport in Kiritimati (Christmas Islands).

The IVS report is an important tool to understand international traveler psychology including motivations, customer spend, satisfaction, and demographics.

This report will be used by the Government of Kiribati (GoK) as a tool to effectively develop tourism policies including the implementation of tourism investment strategies consistent with market demands.

Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) hopes its private sector partners will find this report valuable to understanding their customers and align their products to travellers’ requirements. Likewise, local, and international tourism stakeholders and education institutions can use this IVS report to understand the business of tourism in the Kiribati context to help determine their contribution to sustainable tourism growth.

The IVS projects was funded by the European Union – Kiribati Corporation Office and supported by the Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO).

TAK Hosts Miss Kiribati 2020

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The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) hosted Miss Kiribati 2020, Baniti Semilota to a Tourism Industry update and morning tea at the head office in Takoronga on Thursday 30th July 2020.

As Miss Kiribati 2020, Baniti Semilota will advocate for and be engaged in the promotion of Kiribati locally and internationally. TAK recognizes the importance of such a public figure role and has taken the opportunity during her visit to educate and update her on the status of the tourism industry in Kiribati.

In her speech to the staff of TAK, Miss Kiribati welcomed the opportunity to assist in the promotion of Tourism in Kiribati during her reign.

Miss Kiribati was accompanied by Mrs. Tiinia, Chairlady of the Miss Kiribati Pageant and Ms Runeta, representative of the pageant sponsor, Shipping Agency of Kiribati (SAOK).

TAK Welcomes new Tourism Minister

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The new Minister of the Ministry of Information, Communication, Transport and Tourism Development (MICTTD) Hon Tekeeua Tarati was officially welcomed by Tourism Authority of Kiribati on 27 July 2020 during his visit to their office in Takoronga.

The visit gave TAK an opportunity to brief the Honourable Minister on the current status of tourism in Kiribati, the Covid-19 impact assessment and the Authority’s plans on resetting the industry.

In his remarks, Minister Tekeeua stressed on the important need for TAK to work closely with government and the private sector to strengthen tourism in Kiribati.

TAK participates in GEF7 project funding meeting

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The Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) participated in a project funding brief on Tuesday 28 July at the Office of the President (OB) in Bairiki for the Global Environment Facility’s GEF7 set to be implemented from 2023- 2027.

The meeting was coordinated by the Environment Conservation Division (ECD) of the Ministry of Lands and Agricultural Development (MELAD) and was chaired by the OB Deputy Secretary.

GEF7 calls for the formulation of proposed projects ideas that address ‘Kiribati Protected Areas for Food Security, Island Ecosystems and Biodiversity’ from Ministries and government departments that are part of the Kiribati National Experts Group (KNEG)and have an interest in these 3 thematic areas.

GEF7 recognises the potential for of ecotourism in atoll islands and TAK will use this opportunity to seek support for development in agritourism, ecotourism and cultural tourism in island communities of Kiribati.